CHAPTER 17
. AHITHOPHEL'S
COUNSEL OVERTHROWN
BY HUSHAI.
1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto
Absalom—The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures
before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced
the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his
advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a
dreadful proof of the extremities to which the heartless prince was,
to secure his ambitious objects, prepared to go, that the parricidal
counsel "pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel."
It was happily overruled, however, by the address of Hushai, who saw
the imminent danger to which it would expose the king and the royal
cause. He dwelt upon the warlike character and military experience of
the old king—represented him and his adherents as mighty men, who
would fight with desperation; and who, most probably, secure in some
stronghold, would be beyond reach, while the smallest loss of
Absalom's men at the outset might be fatal to the success of the
conspiracy. But his dexterity was chiefly displayed in that part of
his counsel which recommended a general levy throughout the country;
and that Absalom should take command of it in person—thereby
flattering at once the pride and ambition of the usurper. The bait
was caught by the vainglorious and wicked prince.
12. we will light upon him as the
dew falleth on the ground—No image could have symbolized the
sudden onset of an enemy so graphically to an Oriental mind as the
silent, irresistible, and rapid descent of this natural moisture on
every field and blade of grass.
13. all Israel shall bring ropes to
that city—In besieging a town, hooks or cranes were often
thrown upon the walls or turrets, by which, with ropes attached to
them, the besiegers, uniting all their force, pulled down the
fortifications in a mass of ruins.
14. The counsel of Hushai the
Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel—The reasons
specified being extremely plausible, and expressed in the strong
hyperbolical language suited to dazzle an Oriental imagination, the
council declared in favor of Hushai's advice; and their resolution
was the immediate cause of the discomfiture of the rebellion,
although the council itself was only a link in the chain of causation
held by the controlling hand of the Lord.
. SECRET
INTELLIGENCE SENT
TO DAVID.
16. send quickly, and tell
David—Apparently doubting that his advice would be followed,
Hushai ordered secret intelligence to be conveyed to David of all
that transpired, with an urgent recommendation to cross the Jordan
without a moment's delay, lest Ahithophel's address and influence
might produce a change on the prince's mind, and an immediate pursuit
be determined on.
17. by En-rogel—the fuller's
well in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, below the junction of the
valley of Hinnom with that of Jehoshaphat.
18. and came to a man's house in
Bahurim, which had a well in his court—The court was that of
the house, and the well an empty cistern. All the houses of the
better class are furnished with such reservoirs. Nothing could more
easily happen than that one of these wells, in consequence of a
deficiency of water, should become dry and it would then answer as a
place of retreat, such as David's friends found in the man's house at
Bahurim. The spreading of a covering over the well's mouth for the
drying of corn is a common practice.
. AHITHOPHEL
HANGS HIMSELF.
23. when Ahithophel saw that his
counsel was not followed—His vanity was wounded, his pride
mortified on finding that his ascendency was gone; but that chagrin
was aggravated by other feelings—a painful conviction that through
the delay which had been resolved on, the cause of Absalom was lost.
Hastening home, therefore, he arranged his private affairs, and
knowing that the storm of retributive vengeance would fall chiefly
upon him as the instigator and prop of the rebellion, he hanged
himself. It may be remarked that the Israelites did not, at that
time, refuse the rites of sepulture even to those who died by their
own hands. He had an imitator in Judas, who resembled him in his
treason, as well as in his infamous end.
24. Then David came to Mahanaim—in
the high eastern country of Gilead, the seat of Ish-bosheth's
government.
Absalom passed over Jordan—It
is not said how long an interval elapsed, but there must have been
sufficient time to make the intended levy throughout the kingdom.
25. Amasa—By the genealogy it
appears that this captain stood in the same relation to David as
Joab, both being his nephews. Of course, Amasa was Absalom's cousin,
and though himself an Israelite, his father was an Ishmaelite ().
Nahash—is thought by
some to be another name of Jesse, or according to others, the name of
Jesse's wife.
27-29. when David was come to
Mahanaim—The necessities of the king and his followers were
hospitably ministered to by three chiefs, whose generous loyalty is
recorded with honor in the sacred narrative.
Shobi—must have been a
brother of Hanun. Disapproving, probably, of that young king's
outrage upon the Israelite ambassadors, he had been made governor of
Ammon by David on the conquest of that country.
Machir—(See ). Supposed by some to have been a brother of Bath-sheba, and
Barzillai—a wealthy old
grandee, whose great age and infirmities made his loyal devotion to
the distressed monarch peculiarly affecting. The supplies they
brought, which (besides beds for the weary) consisted of the staple
produce of their rich lands and pastures, may be classified as
follows: eatables—wheat, barley, flour, beans, lentils, sheep, and
cheese; drinkables—"honey and butter" or cream, which,
being mixed together, form a thin, diluted beverage, light, cool, and
refreshing. Being considered a luxurious refreshment (), the supply of it shows the high respect that was paid to
David by his loyal and faithful subjects at Mahanaim.
29. in the wilderness—spread
out beyond the cultivated tablelands into the steppes of Hauran.
CHAPTER 17
. AHITHOPHEL'S COUNSEL OVERTHROWN BY HUSHAI.
1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom—The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of the extremities to which the heartless prince was, to secure his ambitious objects, prepared to go, that the parricidal counsel "pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel." It was happily overruled, however, by the address of Hushai, who saw the imminent danger to which it would expose the king and the royal cause. He dwelt upon the warlike character and military experience of the old king—represented him and his adherents as mighty men, who would fight with desperation; and who, most probably, secure in some stronghold, would be beyond reach, while the smallest loss of Absalom's men at the outset might be fatal to the success of the conspiracy. But his dexterity was chiefly displayed in that part of his counsel which recommended a general levy throughout the country; and that Absalom should take command of it in person—thereby flattering at once the pride and ambition of the usurper. The bait was caught by the vainglorious and wicked prince.
12. we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground—No image could have symbolized the sudden onset of an enemy so graphically to an Oriental mind as the silent, irresistible, and rapid descent of this natural moisture on every field and blade of grass.
13. all Israel shall bring ropes to that city—In besieging a town, hooks or cranes were often thrown upon the walls or turrets, by which, with ropes attached to them, the besiegers, uniting all their force, pulled down the fortifications in a mass of ruins.
14. The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel—The reasons specified being extremely plausible, and expressed in the strong hyperbolical language suited to dazzle an Oriental imagination, the council declared in favor of Hushai's advice; and their resolution was the immediate cause of the discomfiture of the rebellion, although the council itself was only a link in the chain of causation held by the controlling hand of the Lord.
. SECRET INTELLIGENCE SENT TO DAVID.
16. send quickly, and tell David—Apparently doubting that his advice would be followed, Hushai ordered secret intelligence to be conveyed to David of all that transpired, with an urgent recommendation to cross the Jordan without a moment's delay, lest Ahithophel's address and influence might produce a change on the prince's mind, and an immediate pursuit be determined on.
17. by En-rogel—the fuller's well in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, below the junction of the valley of Hinnom with that of Jehoshaphat.
18. and came to a man's house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court—The court was that of the house, and the well an empty cistern. All the houses of the better class are furnished with such reservoirs. Nothing could more easily happen than that one of these wells, in consequence of a deficiency of water, should become dry and it would then answer as a place of retreat, such as David's friends found in the man's house at Bahurim. The spreading of a covering over the well's mouth for the drying of corn is a common practice.
. AHITHOPHEL HANGS HIMSELF.
23. when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed—His vanity was wounded, his pride mortified on finding that his ascendency was gone; but that chagrin was aggravated by other feelings—a painful conviction that through the delay which had been resolved on, the cause of Absalom was lost. Hastening home, therefore, he arranged his private affairs, and knowing that the storm of retributive vengeance would fall chiefly upon him as the instigator and prop of the rebellion, he hanged himself. It may be remarked that the Israelites did not, at that time, refuse the rites of sepulture even to those who died by their own hands. He had an imitator in Judas, who resembled him in his treason, as well as in his infamous end.
24. Then David came to Mahanaim—in the high eastern country of Gilead, the seat of Ish-bosheth's government.
Absalom passed over Jordan—It is not said how long an interval elapsed, but there must have been sufficient time to make the intended levy throughout the kingdom.
25. Amasa—By the genealogy it appears that this captain stood in the same relation to David as Joab, both being his nephews. Of course, Amasa was Absalom's cousin, and though himself an Israelite, his father was an Ishmaelite ().
Nahash—is thought by some to be another name of Jesse, or according to others, the name of Jesse's wife.
27-29. when David was come to Mahanaim—The necessities of the king and his followers were hospitably ministered to by three chiefs, whose generous loyalty is recorded with honor in the sacred narrative.
Shobi—must have been a brother of Hanun. Disapproving, probably, of that young king's outrage upon the Israelite ambassadors, he had been made governor of Ammon by David on the conquest of that country.
Machir—(See ). Supposed by some to have been a brother of Bath-sheba, and
Barzillai—a wealthy old grandee, whose great age and infirmities made his loyal devotion to the distressed monarch peculiarly affecting. The supplies they brought, which (besides beds for the weary) consisted of the staple produce of their rich lands and pastures, may be classified as follows: eatables—wheat, barley, flour, beans, lentils, sheep, and cheese; drinkables—"honey and butter" or cream, which, being mixed together, form a thin, diluted beverage, light, cool, and refreshing. Being considered a luxurious refreshment (), the supply of it shows the high respect that was paid to David by his loyal and faithful subjects at Mahanaim.
29. in the wilderness—spread out beyond the cultivated tablelands into the steppes of Hauran.